GREENSBORO, N.C. — Drew Lament took fifth place in a national decathlon championship meet recently, competing in the Intermediate boys division (ages 15-16) in the USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Outdoor Championships on July 22-23 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Lament, who was competing unattached at the national meet, will be a sophomore at Waynesfield-Goshen High School for the 2013-14 school year.

His final points total was 5,481, just four points behind the fourth-place finisher and fewer than 200 points behind the champion in the Intermediate standings.

Sports Editor

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Drew Lament took fifth place in a national decathlon championship meet recently, competing in the Intermediate boys division (ages 15-16) in the USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Outdoor Championships on July 22-23 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Lament, who was competing unattached at the national meet, will be a sophomore at Waynesfield-Goshen High School for the 2013-14 school year.

His final points total was 5,481, just four points behind the fourth-place finisher and fewer than 200 points behind the champion in the Intermediate standings.

“I was hoping to get second or third, but the kids who placed higher than me, they did their best in almost every event, and I only did my best in a few events,” Lament said. “I would have done good in all of my events, I could have probably won or finished higher.”

On Monday, July 22, the first day of the two-day meet, Lament recorded lifetime bests in three events — winning the high jump by four inches at 6-2.75, placing eighth in the long jump at 18-2.5 and finishing 13th at 56.88 in the 400-meter dash. He also took 13th in the 100-meter dash at 12.36 and tied for sixth in the shot put (34-9.5).

After the first day of competition, Lament’s points total of 2,863 was fourth overall in his division’s standings.

On Tuesday, July 23, Lament finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.65, fourth in the discus at 106-8, third in pole vault at 11-11.75, sixth in the javelin throw at 129-11 and seventh in the 1500 at 5:08.21.

Lament trained all summer for this string of decathlons, with the help of W-G assistant track and field coach Joe Horn.

“I’d like to thank Joe for helping me train during the summer,” Lament said. “Most of the time it was in the morning from 8-10 a.m. Some days I had two-a-days from 8-10 a.m. and came back from 5-6 for some running. I’d like to thank him for his time.”

To qualify to the national championships, Lament was the USATF Region V intermediate boys decathlon champion last week at Olivet College in Olivet, Mich., with a total of 5,393 points in the two-day, 10-event competition.

This past spring, for his freshman season for W-G in track and field, Lament placed eighth in the high jump at the Division III, Region 10 meet in Tiffin. He was also a regional qualifier in pole vault and on W-G’s 4x400-meter relay team.

Lament will turn his attention to football, with the start of official practice exactly one week away.